Lavanya Takes Her First Steps Towards Becoming A Future Leader!

Gone are the days when specializing in one area meant you’d make a successful career in the same direction. Today, with the world changing so swiftly, learning and upskilling have become a continuous process. Education is not limited to just schools and colleges; people engaged in the workforce also need to keep themselves updated on the latest technologies, industry trends and market demands.

Nowadays, career progressions are rarely linear in nature. With technological disruptions and growing competition, professionals across industries must upskill to keep up with the changing demands.

Business Analytics is one such specialization area that is implemented across most of the industries and verticals. Whether it is FinTech, Banking, IT/ITES, Retail, eCommerce, or even Healthcare, Business Analytics has found its way into the core business functions. Several professionals with various academic backgrounds are finding themselves stuck mid-career or want to take a huge leap in their professional journey. Business Analytics allows mid to senior-level professionals to find that spark in their careers and take a massive jump from their previous job roles. 

Lavanya Paspuleti, an Analyst at Deloitte India, has been in the workforce for more than 7 years. After pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and an MBA in Human Resources, Lavanya started her professional career in Talent Acquisition. Her career took a different turn when she developed an interest in Analytics and joined Deloitte India as an Analyst. After spending 6 years in the Analytics domain, Lavanya decided to upskill, in Business Analytics with Jigsaw Academy, to gain expertise in the core subjects and become more relevant to current technological requirements.

Lavanya chose the 10-month-long online Integrated Program in Business Analytics (IPBA) for upskilling, which is curated for mid-level professionals and senior executives who seek a career transformation with the help of Business Analytics & Management Skills. This online instructor-led program by Jigsaw Academy is in collaboration with one of India’s Premier Business Schools, the Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM Indore). 

Post the completion of the program, we spoke to Lavanya about her career decision and upskilling experience with Jigsaw Academy. Let’s hear what she has to say about our Integrated Program in Business Analytics.

1. What made you consider upskilling in the Business Analytics domain?

I have 7+ years of experience and do a lot of reporting in my current job role. However, it is totally on Excel. This made me want to refine my data visualization and analytics skills with cutting-edge technologies like Python, R, and Tableau. 

2. What are the highlights of your upskilling journey with us?

The live industry project and assignment during the program gave me a chance to interact with mentors and industry experts, which further helped me in understanding the application of these skills in the real world. Apart from what we have learned over these 10 months, right from the inaugural ceremony of the program and the 3-day Campus Module at IIM-Indore, the program has given me a great opportunity to connect with IIM faculty and fellow batchmates. I have made some great connections through this Future Leaders program.

3. Would you recommend the Integrated Program in Business Analytics to your friends? Why?

Yes, I would recommend the IPBA to everyone who is a data enthusiast. IPBA is designed in such a way that working professionals from various backgrounds can easily understand difficult topics like Data Science, Statistical Modeling, Business Analytics, Visualization, Big Data, and Machine Learning. These concepts are taught in a step-by-step process while making sure the learner gets hands-on experience as well.

4. How relevant is our Future Leaders program (IPBA) keeping the current market needs in mind?

The program covers all the technologies required to become future-ready, like Python, R, Data Handling and Extraction with SQL, Big Data and Machine Learning with Spark, querying with Hadoop and Hive. It has everything that one must know in order to remain updated as per the current market needs. Unless someone is specifically looking for a specialization in Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Neural Networks, etc., this program is the best option.

5. How was your experience with online live classes by IIM-I faculty?

The classes are interactive, and the faculty answered every single question that students would post in the chat window. We are provided with the class recordings, which can be accessed for the next 24 months and can be referred to when we have any questions about a specific topic. Not just that, every faculty was open to answering the questions that we would have at the end of each session. We used to send them emails or raise a ticket, which was usually answered at the earliest. At the end of each topic, there is an exclusive session to cover a real time industry case study based on the topic covered. All of these have made me feel like online live classes are no less than classroom sessions.

6. How has IPBA helped you grow/ transition in your professional journey?

I knew nothing apart from Excel when it came to data handling or data visualization. IPBA has helped me learn new tools and concepts from Tableau and Python to handle structured and unstructured data. Earlier, my understanding of data was limited. Now, I know many things pertaining to various kinds of data sets and how to handle them in order to generate business value and give insights.

7. Why did you choose the Integrated Program in Business Analytics with IIM-I & Jigsaw Academy?  

I did my research before zeroing in on one program and read all the reviews for various Analytics programs that are being offered from top Business & Technology schools. However, when I found out about Jigsaw Academy, which ranks #1 in Analytics training and offers courses in collaboration with other academic giants like IIM-Indore, I was very impressed. Also, who wouldn’t want to get lifetime access and avail all the benefits as an IIM alumna?

There’s no denying the fact that a career in Business Analytics takes you a long way. You may be someone, like Lavanya, who already has professional experience in analytics and are looking forward to extending your skill set, or come from a diverse academic and professional background. Rest assured, upskilling in Business Analytics will help you take your career graph upwards. If you are interested in knowing more about our Future Leaders program in collaboration with IIM Indore, check out our website.